Item - 2026.IE29.1

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee:

1. In accordance with Section 71-11.1(C) of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 71, (Financial Control By-law), authorized the General Manager, Transportation Services to amend Blanket Contract Number C78, contract 26TR-OM-610-TEY-TS, for the Toronto and East-York District, with Rafat General Contractor Inc., increasing the current Blanket Contract value by $18,334,134 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($18,656,815 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries), revising the total Blanket Contract value from $6,952,670 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($7,075,037 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries) to $25,286,804 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($25,731,852 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries).

2. In accordance with Section 71-11.1(C) of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 71, (Financial Control By-law), authorized the General Manager, Transportation Services to amend Blanket Contract Number C87, contract 26TR-OM-620-EY-TS, for the Etobicoke-York District, with Rafat General Contractor Inc., increasing the current Blanket Contract value by $7,205,184 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($7,331,996 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries), revising the total Blanket Contract value from $6,936,981 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($7,059,072 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries) to $14,142,165 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($14,391,068 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries).

3. In accordance with Section 71-11.1(C) of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 71, (Financial Control By-law), authorized the General Manager, Transportation Services to amend Blanket Contract Number C88, contract 26TR-OM-630-NY-TS, for the North York District, with Rafat General Contractor Inc., increasing the current Blanket Contract value by $19,382,626 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($19,723,760 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries), revising the total Blanket Contract value from $6,936,981 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($7,059,072 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries) to $26,319,607 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($26,782,832 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries).

4. In accordance with Section 71-11.1(C) of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 71, (Financial Control By-law), authorized the General Manager, Transportation Services to amend Blanket Contract Number C89, contract 26TR-OM-640-SC-TS, for the Scarborough District, with Rafat General Contractor Inc., increasing the current Blanket Contract value by $8,893,501 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($9,050,026 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries) revising the total Blanket Contract value from $5,362,891 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($5,457,278 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries) to $14,256,392 net of all applicable taxes and charges ($14,507,304 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries).

5. Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with Technology Services Division, Communications Division, Customer Experience Division, the Toronto Transit Commission, any other relevant divisions or agencies and the Chair, and Vice Chair of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee, to undertake a coordinated review of winter operations service integration to identify opportunities to further improve triage, routing, and real-time coordination during both routine and major snow events.

6. Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services, with the advice of the Chair and Vice Chair of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee, to consult with Members of Council, school boards, other city divisions, the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas, and other interest groups, as appropriate, on their experiences during the 2025-2026 winter season, to inform ongoing improvements to winter operations and service delivery.

7. Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services, in consultation with Communications Division, Toronto Police Service Parking Enforcement, and the Toronto Parking Authority, to develop options to modernize winter parking management during Major Snow Event and Significant Weather Event declarations, including improved alignment between completion of snow removal operations and the duration of parking restrictions, and enhanced public communications to improve clarity and compliance.

8. Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services, in collaboration with CreateTO and Corporate Real Estate Management, to explore opportunities to optimize snow storage and haulage operations, including identification of additional temporary and potential permanent snow storage sites, to support the improved use of existing facilities, reduction of haul distances, and truck queuing.

9. Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services, to develop and implement a comprehensive public education and outreach strategy for implementation prior to the 2026-2027 winter season to better inform residents about the City’s windrow clearing program, and to better inform residents about which addresses are eligible for windrow clearing, and which are not.

10. Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services, and the Chief Communications Officer, in consultation with Business Improvement Areas, to develop and implement a public education strategy clarifying the snow and ice clearance responsibilities of Commercial properties beyond the sidewalk snow and ice clearing service offered by the City of Toronto.

11. Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services, to report to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee by the first quarter of 2027 on a plan for a neighborhood communication strategy and clean up plan to better manage snow "dump" sites. 

12. Requested the Deputy City Manager, Infrastructure Services, to give consideration to the development of a permanent list of those who need critical-care in an emergency situation such as major snow storm, ice storm, electricity blackout.

This report provides an overview of the City of Toronto’s winter maintenance activities during the 2025-2026 winter season and seeks authority for amendments to existing blanket contracts for trucking services supporting snow removal haulage operations and summer haulage operations as these services are integral to the delivery of services and operational activities described in this report.

The 2025-2026 winter season was characterized by sustained operational demands due to a high frequency of winter events, including two major snow events in January 2026 that produced approximately 90 cm of snowfall and required extended response and recovery operations. These conditions required the activation of the City’s Major Snow Event Response Plan (MSERP), enabling a coordinated one-City response across multiple divisions and partner agencies, including but not limited to Transportation Services, Toronto Emergency Management, Communications Division, Customer Experience Division, Fleet Services, Toronto Police Service Parking Enforcement, the Toronto Transit Commission, and other partners. In addition, multiple City divisions provided additional front line and support staff to assist with delivering the MSERP including Solid Waste Management Services, Toronto Water, Environment, Climate and Forestry, Parks and Recreation, Engineering and Construction Services and Policy, Planning, Finance and Administration. CUPE Local 416 and CUPE Local 79 were strong partners in supporting winter operations during the major snow events.

The MSERP supported structured deployment of resources and improved coordination of surge support during and after the January 2026 major snow events. Refined in advance of the 2025-2026 winter season, it provided a unified approach for managing the response to major snow events.

The overall number of winter service requests increased significantly compared to the previous season, rising from approximately 28,888 to 49,534, reflecting both the greater amount of snowfall and the discontinuation of the 311 hold period. Despite this increase in demand, service performance improved, with on-time completion increasing by approximately 30 percentage points, supported by strengthened coordination, more effective triage and dispatch processes, and improved visibility of field conditions.

A range of operational enhancements were implemented for the 2025-2026 winter season to strengthen winter service delivery across both routine operations and major snow events. These included the discontinuation of the 311 hold period, the establishment of District Communication Centres, additional in-house equipment, and strengthened monitoring and inspection practices to support more consistent field oversight. Winter communications were also enhanced through a more coordinated, city-wide communications approach, supported by data-informed messaging.

Operational preparedness was further strengthened through targeted initiatives across multiple service areas, including additional treatment at priority TTC hill locations and proactive snow removal, as part of the broader snow removal operations, that collectively resulted in the removal of approximately 538,000 tonnes of snow.

Overall, the 2025-2026 winter season demonstrated improved performance and coordination, while identifying key opportunities for improvement such as snow removal along narrow streets, sidewalks and bike lanes, as well as improving the resiliency of in-house sidewalk plows for future winter seasons.

A summary of key improvements implemented or planned for future seasons is provided in Attachment 1.

This report also seeks authority to amend four (4) Blanket Contracts, 26TR-OM-610-TEY - BC #C78 (Toronto-East York), 26TR-OM-620-EY-TS - BC #C87 (Etobicoke-York), 26TR-OM-630-NY-TS - BC #C88 (North York), and 26TR-OM-640-SC-TS - BC #C89 (Scarborough). These contracts were awarded through Request for Quotation Doc5344653057 to Rafat General Contractor Inc. for the non-exclusive supply of all labour, equipment and materials necessary to provide single axle, tandem and tri-axle dump trucks with operators.  

The amendment is required to increase the award values of the four (4) Blanket Contracts to ensure continuity and uninterrupted trucking services for both snow removal haulage and summer haulage operations. The contracts were issued with an initial term of one (1) year (2026), with the option to extend for up to three (3) additional separate one (1)-year periods (2027, 2028, and 2029). At the time of procurement, contract values were based on historical snow removal trends and typical summer usage requirements.

As a result of record snowfall in January 2026, it was necessary to remove and truck snow from city streets to maintain emergency access, transit corridors, bridge decks, access to hospitals, and other priority areas. The scale of response required during the 2026 major snow events exceeded original year one (2026) estimates for the trucking contract of $6,376,790 with spends totalling $18,254,199.

The total value of the four (4) blanket contracts, including option years, is $26,189,522 net of all taxes and charges ($26,650,458 net of HST recoveries). The amendment would increase the total value of the four (4) blanket contracts by $53,815,445 net of all taxes and charges ($54,762,598 net of HST recoveries), revising the value of the four (4) contracts, including option years, to $80,004,968 net of all taxes and charges ($81,413,056 net of HST recoveries).

The purpose of this report is to advise that the General Manager, Transportation Services will be submitting a report that provides an overview of the City of Toronto's winter maintenance activities during the 2025-2026 winter season to Infrastructure and Environment Committee for its meeting on May 6, 2026. The report will also include recommendations to amend four (4) Blanket Contracts 26TR-OM-610-TEY - BC #C78 (Toronto-East York), 26TR-OM-620-EY-TS - BC #C87 (Etobicoke-York), 26TR-OM-630-NY-TS - BC #C88 (North York), and 26TR-OM-640-SC-TS - BC #C89 (Scarborough), for work awarded through Request for Quotation Doc5344653057 to Rafat General Contractor Inc. for the non-exclusive supply of all labour, equipment and materials necessary to provide single axle, tandem and tri-axle dump trucks with operators.